Paul Ryan: 2012's Goldwater?  —  I used to worry that Sarah Palin would be the Barry Goldwater of 2012.  My bad.  Paul Ryan is the Barry Goldwater of 2012.  —  The Goldwater effect continues on this morning after the NY-26 debacle.  Henry Olsen of AEI, as smart a political numbers guy …

Newt Gingrich now defending Paul Ryan  —  Newt Gingrich is resurfacing in the battle over Medicare, but this time on Rep. Paul Ryan's side.  —  The former House speaker sent a letter to members of Congress Wednesday morning claiming that “Democrats and their allies in the elite media …

Ryan blames NY-26 on Dem ‘scare tactics’  —  Tuesday's special election win by Democrat Kathy Hochul was the result of Democratic scare tactics, and not actually a referendum on the reality of his Medicare plan, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said in his first comments after the polls closed in Western New York.

Democrat Wins G.O.P. Seat; Rebuke Seen to Medicare Plan  —  Democrats scored an upset in one of New York's most conservative Congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party in a race that largely turned on the party's plan to overhaul Medicare.

G.O.P. on the Defensive as Voters Resist Medicare Plan  —  WASHINGTON — When they proposed just last month to overhaul Medicare, House Republicans were confident that the wind of budget politics was at their backs and that the country's looming fiscal problems provided justification …

About Peter R Orszag  —  Peter R. Orszag, vice chairman of global banking at Citigroup and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, was President Obama's director of the Office of Management and Budget.  —  Sharing Costs Is No Way to Fix Medicare  —  Chart by Jarrod Barretto.

Six Months After Midterm Disaster, Hopeful Signs for Democrats  —  Here's what I wrote two weeks ago about the special election in New York's 26th Congressional District, which was won by the Democrat Kathy Hochul Tuesday night: … Ms. Hochul, with most of the vote counted, has 48 percent of the total, so she has met this threshold.

MSNBC's Ed Schultz Calls Radio Host Laura Ingraham A ‘Right Wing Slut’  —  MSNBC host Ed Schultz is known for his hyperbolic attacks on Republicans but it looks like he may have crossed the line on his show yesterday by labeling Laura Ingraham a “right wing slut.”

Libtalker Ed Schultz Uses Vulgarity To Attack Conservative Host  —  DEPRAV-ED  —  MSNBC'S Schultz: Laura Ingraham's ‘A Slut’  —  *** RIP: CNBC'S MARK HAINES, ONE OF THE LAST HONEST BUSINESS JOURNALISTS ***  —  Bye-bye, Ed Schultz.  —  We'll especially miss your gigantic ego, unending rage and all-around delightful personality.